ArtAround Roswell 2021-2022 Temporary Sculpture
Jack Was Optimistic
Chris Plaisted | New Milford CT
Location: Roswell Area Park
Materials: Steel and aluminum
Dimensions: 16 ft x 8 ft x 8 ft
Available for purchase: Contact Elan@RoswellArtsFund.org to learn more.
Born in New Hampshire from a creative family, Chris Plaisted is both a painter and a sculptor. His father, an accomplished pastiche artist and his grandmother, an award-winning tinsel folk artist, were strong influences on him. Mary Ellen Plaisted, his aunt, has her oil paintings displayed in galleries across the Carolinas.
Plaisted’s work tends to focus on forms of conflict. It may be in the concept: man vs. nature, social vs. emotion or it may be the tension created by using contrasting materials. He connects with the juxtaposition of different materials (steel with copper and concrete, wood with metals) believing that the opposing materials and colors intensify each element’s properties to produce a more dynamic form of fine art.
What started off as a dark piece with gnarly roots and black materials changed to a more optimistic and whimsical piece as Chris was working on it. Like a maypole, this spire is a celebratory beacon one could climb up above all this to a brighter place.
